The stability of tolerance of Sorghum spp to Striga asiatica L. Kuntze under diverse conditions and existence of pre-attachment resistance
- Authors: Mandumbu, Ronald
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Sorghum Sorghum -- Drought tolerance Sorghum -- Effect of drought on
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/2788 , vital:28088
- Description: Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal in the world and a staple food for humans. It is also a source of food and fodder for animals. In addition to the abiotic stresses such as drought, parasitic weeds of the genus Striga cause losses in sorghum production in sub Saharan Africa. Striga asiatica is a parasitic weed that attacks cereals in low input agricultural systems and is distributed throughout semi- arid regions of Africa. Most sorghum producing farmers rely on tolerance for their harvests in Striga infested fields yet the stability of tolerance in the face of a changing climate (recurrent droughts), new farming systems (mulch based agriculture) and existence of various Striga strains needs further investigation. Reduced strigolactones production was also studied as a resistance mechanism. The first study was focused on the determination of tolerance of Striga asiatica infested sorghum under drought in a pot study. Five sorghum lines were subjected to infestation with Striga and some were not infested while watering was done at 50 percent field capacity (FC) and 100 percent FC. The results showed that the five sorghum lines differed significantly in chlorophyll content and Normalised Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI). Infection did not lower chlorophyll content when it co-occurred with drought across all sorghum lines. Drought and infestation had mutually exclusive effects on chlorophyll content and NDVI. Under infestation, internode length was similar both at 100 percent FC and at 50 percent FC while under uninfested conditions, 100 percent FC gave the longer internode compared to 50 percent FC. Both infestation and irrigation regime reduced the sorghum head weight, illustrating that the two effects have synergistic effects on sorghum head weight. The second study sought to determine the effects of mulching and infestation on sorghum spp tolerance to Striga asiatica. The experiments were carried out in the seasons 2013/14 and 2014/15 summer seasons. The results indicated that mulching increased chlorophyll content in the 2014/15 season which was a drier season compared to 2013/14. In the 2014/15 season, mulching increased chlorophyll content in all varieties except Ruzangwaya, Mukadziusaende and SC Sila. When the same varieties were infested under mulch and infested without mulch, the results showed that mulching overcomes the effects of infestation in some varieties. Mulch also negates the effect of Striga parasitism and results in yield maintenance in sorghum varieties. The third study sought to determine the stability of sorghum lines when exposed to two Striga asiatica lines sourced from two places which are 500 km apart in Zimbabwe. The two strains were termed the Chiundura and Rushinga strains, based on where they were sourced. The experiments were conducted at Henderson Research Station (HRS) at Mazoe and at Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE). The results showed differential virulence for some traits while the two strains were equally virulent for some traits. The two strains were equally virulent on all sorghum lines with respect to chlorophyll content. The different sorghum lines responded differently to the effects of the two strains. The effects of the two strains were generally similar for head index, root index, and leaf index at all sites. Generally the Chiundura strain was more virulent to sorghum lines compared to Rushinga strain, confirming the existence of physiological strains of Striga in Zimbabwe. Therefore physiological speciation of Striga asiatica exists and this adds a further dimension to the complexity of Striga management in the smallholder sector. Quantification of strigolactone production by different sorghum genotypes was conducted in the laboratory using the agar gel assay. The genotype Mukadziusaende produced significantly the least (P<0.01) quantities of strigolactones, as inferred from the maximum germination distance (MGD) from the sorghum root. The MGD was negatively correlated to tiller numbers illustrating that the more the strigolactones the less the tillering capacity. Tiller numbers and MGD can therefore be used to select for reduced strigolactones production.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Attitutes of professional nurses towards the dimensions of quality care in the community health centres of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo sub-district, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Ntuku, Nonzukiso Sheila
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Community health services -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Nursing services -- South Africa-- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13989 , vital:39737
- Description: The study focused on attitudes of professional nurses towards the dimensions of quality care. Quality care is the main focus of the Department of Health in the Republic of South Africa. The researcher believes that professional nurses form the backbone of the whole health care fraternity; hence they are central to the study of quality care dimensions. The aim of the study was to determine and describe the attitudes of professional nurses towards the dimensions of quality care in the community health centres of the KingSabatha Dalindyebo sub-district. A quantitative descriptive design was employed to meet the objectives of the study. The non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select participants to provide information on the attitudes of professional nurses towards the dimensions of quality care in the community health centres of the King Sabatha Dalindyebo sub-district, Eastern Cape. From the target of 84 professional nurses who were employed at the five community health centres of King Sabatha Dalindyebo sub-district of the O.R. Tambo District, Eastern Cape Province, 70 (83,3percent) professional nursesresponded to the questionnaires. A self-administered questionnaire written in simple English was used to collect data from the professional nurses regarding their attitudes towards dimensions of quality care. The researcher adhered to the ethical standards of nursing research as described by the Democratic Nursing Organisationof South Africa regarding anonymity, confidentiality, privacy and quality research, according to which the names of professional nurses were not recorded on the questionnaires. The data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. The distribution of the results has been presented in tables and a bar graph. The results of the study revealed that the professional nurses of these community health centres had positive attitudes towards the dimensions of quality care.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The role of transport infrastructure in attracting foreign direct investment in South Africa
- Authors: Mjacu, Lwando
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Transportation Investments, Foreign -- South Africa Infrastructure (Economics) -- Government policy
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8609 , vital:33181
- Description: This study examined the role of transport infrastructure in attracting foreign direct investment in South Africa. The study used quarterly time series data for the period of 1994 to 2014. The Johansen cointegration and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) were used to determine the impact of transport infrastructure on foreign direct investment in South Africa. The explanatory variables in this study were market size, transport infrastructure, labour cost, exchange rate and corporate tax. Results from this study showed that market size, transport infrastructure and corporate tax have a positive and significant impact on foreign direct investment, while exchange rate is positive but insignificant, and labour cost has a negative and insignificant impact on foreign direct investment in South Africa. The policy recommendation that comes from this study is that efforts should be made to improve the standard of transport infrastructure in order to enhance and attract more of foreign direct investment. The government should follow policies that will attract foreign direct investment.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The experiences of young adults raised in single-parent families in the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Makoni, Mavis
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Single-parent families , Children of single parents Young adults
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5292 , vital:29184
- Description: Although the single-parent family is becoming an increasingly common family structure, it is associated with a great many hardships. Owing to the heavy responsibilities which fall on single parents, most fail to meet all of the needs of their children, particularly with respect to the financial needs which are entailed by providing educational necessities, safe, stable and permanent accommodation, adequate food and nutrition and healthcare. This study adopted the parental loss perspective, the economic hardship perspective and the interparental conflict perspective in investigating the experiences of young adults who were raised in single-parent families. A qualitative approach was adopted to conduct the research and data was collected from 26 male and female participants between the ages of 22 and 39 years who resided within the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality. The researcher sought permission to conduct this study from all the community leaders including the councillors and chiefs, thereby acquiring the first referrals. The study made use of purposive sampling and snowballing to select the research sample. The data was collected by using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions and analysed through the use of thematic analysis. The principal findings of the study indicate that although children who are raised in single-parent homes can attain high levels of education and have solid functional relationships in later life, a lack of finance and active parental involvement in their educational activities and social lives can serve to limit their development. As single-mother households face more economic hardships than any other family structures, financial assistance from both the government and their communities would undoubtedly increase the likelihood of children in single-mother families attaining their true academic potential. In addition, free counselling services would also help children who are forced to live under these circumstances overcome the emotional burden which inevitably accompanies either losing or being separated from one parent.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Development of an automatic news summarizer for isiXhosa language
- Authors: Ndyalivana, Zukile
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Text processing (Computer science) Automatic abstracting Computational linguistics
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/7875 , vital:30783
- Description: From practice perspective, given the abundance of digital content nowadays, coming up with a technological solution that summarizes written text without losing its message, coherence and cohesion of ideas is highly essential. The technology saves time for readers as well as gives them a chance to focus on the contents that matter most. This is one of the research areas in natural language processing/ information retrieval, which the dissertation tries to contribute to. It tries to contextualize tools and technologies that are developed for other languages to automatically summarize textual Xhosa news articles. Specifically, the dissertation aims at developing a text summarizer for textual Xhosa news articles based on the extraction methods. In doing so, it examines the literature and understand the techniques and technologies used to analyse contents of a written text, transform and synthesize it, the phonology and morphology of the Xhosa language, and finally, designs, implements and test an extraction-based automatic news article for the Xhosa language. Given comprehension and relevance of the literature review, the research design, the methods and tools and technologies used to design, implement and test the pilot system. Two approaches were used to extract relevant sentences, which are, term frequency and sentence position. The Xhosa summarizer is evaluated using a test set. This study has employed both subjective and objective evaluation methods. The results of both methods are satisfactory. Keywords: Xhosa, Automatic Text Summarization, Term Frequency and Sentence Position.
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- Date Issued: 2017
A hermeneutic phenominological study of the understanding and treatment of Amafufunyana by traditional healers
- Authors: Gqibitole, Camagwini
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Traditional medicine Healers Mental illness -- Treatment
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSoc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5521 , vital:29313
- Description: Traditional healers have a different understanding of psychological illnesses to the western paradigm as well as a different way of diagnosing and treating psychological illnesses. Aims and Objectives. This study’s aim is to examine how traditional healers understand the causes of mental illness mainly focusing on amafufunyana and how this understanding informs treatments methods. Method. This has been done based on hermeneutic phenomenology by drawing from the lived experience of traditional healers through a focus group interview. Results. Upon analysis of the data it becomes clear that traditional healers understand the aetiology of amafufunyana to be supernatural forces. Amafufunyana present in overt and covert symptoms and the diagnostic process entails connecting with the ancestors for their guidance and confirmation of diagnosis, as well as guidance on which imithi to use. The treatment process is congruent with the diagnostic process as it also entails guidance from the ancestors on which imithi to use. Other valuable aspects of traditional healing were brought forward while conducting this study. The aspect of protection from the ancestors was emphasised. It became evident in the analysis of this study that the rituals that are performed in order to appease the ancestors facilitate the connection to the ancestors and through maintaining this connect one can be protected from an array of illnesses and misfortunes. Recommendations. It is recommended that recommended that more studies are conducted with traditional healers in order to give them an opportunity to elaborate on their lived experience of healing, as it was observed that a majority of literature speak on behalf of traditional healers.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The approaches of traditional healers in the treatment of HIV/ AIDS: the case of Chris Hani District Municipality, Cala, Tsengiwe, Eastern cape, South Africa
- Authors: Mati, Similo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: People with HIV and AIDS disease -- healers -- South Africa --Eastern Cape Traditional medicine -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Healers -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape HIV infections -- Treatment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Degree
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5249 , vital:29171
- Description: In South Africa, just like in any other country within the African continent, traditional healing remains an integral part of many communities and this is not just restricted to the rural communities only, as is sometimes assumed. The main aim of this research was to explore the approaches of traditional healers in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in the Chris Hani District Municipality, Eastern Cape. The following research objectives were followed regarding the approaches of traditional healers in the treatment of HIV/AIDS: (i) to assess how traditional healers and people living with HIV/AIDS in Tsengiwe village understand HIV/AIDS, (ii) to investigate the reasons people living with HIV/AIDS consult traditional healers in Tsengiwe village, (iii) to assess Tsengiwe village traditional healers’ treatment strategies for HIV/AIDS, (iv) to establish how traditional healers view their role in the treatment of HIV/AIDS in Tsengiwe village. A qualitative research design was utilized, using in-depth interviews with traditional healers and focus group discussions with caregivers and people living with HIV/AIDS respectively. A type of non-probability sampling known as purposive sampling was used. A total of sixteen (16) participants were interviewed. The findings in this research revealed the following themes: (i) HIV/AIDS is incurable and it is understood by symptoms, (ii) belief system entrenched in traditional healing, (iii) cleansing rituals and traditional medicinal remedies and, (iv) strengthening relations between stakeholders. While traditional healers expressed a willingness to work with biomedical professionals in the management of HIV/AIDS, caregivers and people living with HIV/AIDS preferred going to clinics and hospitals for treatment. Furthermore, people living with HIV/AIDS in this research never admitted to consulting traditional healers for their ailments, only saying that they choose to self-medicate.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Performance comparison of iron pillared montmorillonite, raw and modified zeolites sorption for Cu(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) in water
- Authors: Madigoe, Marakeng Rhudolf
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Water -- Purification -- Biological treatment Adsorption Montmorillonite
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8078 , vital:31516
- Description: The higher concentration of heavy metals and pollutants is toxic to human health and the environment. It is essential to remove these toxics from contaminated water. There are several methods developed for water treatment. These include adsorption, reverse osmosis, precipitation, coagulation and cation exchange. Adsorbents of various characteristics are considered for removal of heavy metals and pollutants. The study investigated the performance of iron pillared Montmorillonite, raw and modified zeolite (acid and base) for the removal of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) in artificially contaminated water. The adsorbents were characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transformation Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) instruments. The percentage removal of Cu(II), Pb(II) and Ni(II) after adsorption process were determined. Iron pillared Montmorillonite showed efficient removal for lead and zeolite for copper and nickel.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Quality indices of the Eastern Cape beach waters in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Mani, Sinalo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Waterfronts -- Recreational use -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Water quality -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/19054 , vital:40108
- Description: Surface waters constitute important sources of water and serve for agricultural, recreational and industrial purposes; however, the vulnerability of such water sources to pollution presents serious ecological, public health and economic problems of global concerns. Beach water quality is monitored to reduce the risk of recreational waterborne illnesses. Water samples were collected between September 2014 and August 2015 at Eastern beach and a total of 5 physicochemical parameters, counts of faecal coliforms, E. coli and Enterococcus isolates were determined using standard analytical procedures. Confirmed Escherichia coli isolates were assessed for virulence genes associated with pathogenic E. coli strains responsible for intestinal and extra-intestinal infections. Recovered E. coli isolates were then interpreted for their antibiogram profiling using disk diffusion method. On the other hand, the recovered Enterococcus isolates were characterized for Enterococcus speciation of key species that are normally implicated in infections and further assessed for their antibiogram profiling by disk diffusion method. The physicochemical qualities of the water ranged as follows: turbidity (1.4 to 36.8 NTU); pH (7.0 to 8.6); temperature (14.5 to 24.5 ºC); total dissolved solids (TDS) (5.2 to 46 mg/L) and electrical conductivity (EC) (8.2 to 70.7 μS/cm). Microbiological qualities obtained were as follows: faecal coliform (101 to 103 CFU/100 mL); Escherichia coli (101 to 103 CFU/100 mL); and enterococci (101 CFU/100 mL to 102 CFU/100 mL). Only 38/104 (37 percent) harbored at least 1 virulence gene while 66/104 (63 percent) of the isolates harbored none. Most frequent virulence genes were eae for EPEC/EHEC, fliCH7 for EHEC, ibeA for NMEC, while daaE for DAEC and ipaH for EIEC were discovered in three isolates each; bfp for EPEC was detected in 2 isolates and lt gene for ETEC in one isolate. EAEC and UPEC genes were not detected in all the isolates. All tested isolates were resistant to ampicillin, tetracycline, gentamycin and chloramphenicol (85 percent), ciprofloxacin (78 percent), trimethoprim (54 percent) and norfloxacin (54 percent) and the Multiple Antibiotic Resistance Index for all isolates ranged between 0.6- 1.0 with the average being 0.8, which exceeded the threshold value of 0.2. Among the 96 recovered Enterococcus isolates, 55 percent were identified as E. faecium, 22 percent were E. hirae, 2 percent were E. durans and 21 percent were uncharacterized Enterococcus species. E. faecalis and E. casseliflavus were not detected amongst the isolates. All isolates were resistant to vancomycin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol. While the resistance against other antibiotics followed the order: tetracycline (97 percent), gentamycin (96 percent), ciprofloxacin (93 percent), linezolid (91 percent), ampicillin (91 percent) and trimethoprim (62percent). Only 6 percent of the isolates were susceptible to trimethoprim and the MAR index for all isolates ranged between 0.6- 1.0 with the average being 0.9 which greater than 0.2, suggesting that these bacterial strains originates from environments with high use or contamination of antibiotics.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Pharmacological investigations of Kedrostis africana (L.) Cogn. and Vernonia mespilifolia Less. used in folk medicine in the Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Unuofin, Jeremiah Oshiomame
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Medicinal plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9231 , vital:34307
- Description: The prevalence of obesity and its co-morbidity is increasing in South Africa. High calorie diet, sedentary lifestyle and the cultural belief that being fat or obese signifies beauty, wellness and wealth are major causative factors. This study was undertaken to scientifically validate two major medicinal plants used traditionally in the Raymond Mhlaba Municipality for the mespilifolia Less. were used singly and in combination. According to ethnobotanical studies,these two plants are regarded as wild plants and are only used for medicinal purposes. There has been a dearth of scientific reports on the two plants and to the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the nutritional, antioxidant, antimicrobial, safety and anti-obesity potentials of the two plants and their combination. This study revealed that both plants are rich in nutrients. K. africana had greater ash (16.28 percent), crude fat (1.12 percent), Ca (2505 mg/100g), Mg (485 mg/100g) and Fe (89.95 mg/100g) while V. mespilifolia showed higher crude fibre (29.24 percent), crude protein (10.75 percent), P (400 mg/100g), Na (570 mg/100g), Cu (1.55 mg/100g) and Mn (4.70 mg/100g). K. africana and V. mespilifolia both contributed 223.37 Kcal/kg and 237.37 Kcal/kg of energy respectively. The polyphenolic evaluation of the acetone, aqueous and ethanol extracts of the plants revealed that the acetone extract of the combination of both plants had higher total phenol (144.59 mgGAE/g) and flavonoid (803.93 mgQE/g) contents, the ethanol extract of the combined plant also had the highest tannin contents (1.25 mgTAE/g), while the acetone extracts of K. Africana had the highest proanthocyanidin content (585 mgCE/g). The antioxidant assays revealed that the ethanol extract for V. mespilifolia had higher scavenging potentials of ABTS, DPPH and vinitric oxide radicals while the aqueous extract of the combination of both had higher scavenging potential for hydrogen peroxide radicals. Evaluation of antimicrobial potential of the extracts using the minimial inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay against 6 bacteria (Actinomyces odontolyticus, Lactobacillus sakei, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacteriodes thetaiotomicron) and 4 fungi (Candida albicans, Microsporium gypsum, Penicillium chrysogenum and Trichophyton tonsurans) revealed that the plants possess antimicrobial activity. The MIC of the extracts against the tested bacterial strains ranged from 2.5 mg/mL to 5 mg/mL acetone and ethanol extracts of V. mespilifolia and the combined plants as well as the ethanol extracts of K. africana. However, no activity was observed for the acetone extract of K. africana and aqueous extracts of V. mespilifolia and the combination of both plants. Only three fungal strains (Candida albicans, Microsporium gypsum and Penicillium chrysogenum) were susceptible to the organic extracts with an MIC 0.3125 mg/mL to 5 mg/mL while the aqueous extracts showed no activity against all the fungal strains. None of the plant extracts showed any activity against Trichophyton tonsurans. The brine shrimp toxicity test revealed that all the three extracts of V. mespilifolia, aqueous and ethanol extracts of K. africana and aqueous and acetone extracts of the combination of both plants were toxic in relative to Meyer’s index and other indices of toxicity. The cytotoxic effect of the aqueous and ethanol extracts of V. mespilifolia, K. africana and their combination were also evaluated using HeLa cells. From this study, all the extracts tested had IC50 values were greater than 20 μg/mL which connotes that they are not toxic. According to the American National Cancer Institute, crude plant extracts are considered cytotoxic in an in vitro assay when concentrations 20 μg/mL and below produce 50% inhibition of tumor cells, after an exposure time of 48 hours. In vivo acute evaluation of single oral administration of 2000 and 5000/kg body weight did not produce mortality or significant behavioral changes during 14 days observation. In addition, the sub-acute administration of the aqueous extract at 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg/bwt/ day over a period of 28 days revealed no mortality or morbidity. The weekly body and organ weight of the rats were not significantly different from those of the controls and extract treated rats. The aqueous extracts at all doses did not show any significant (p > 0.05) effect on biomarkers of liver and renal damage. Haematological evaluation revealed that oral administration of aqueous extracts of K. africana, V. mespilifolia and the combination of both plants did not induce anaemia or leucocytosis in the animals. Furthermore, histopathological evaluation of the internal organs revealed no detectable inflammation at the the doses administered over a period of 28 days. These results demonstrated that the aqueous extracts of K. africana, V. mespilifolia and the combination of both plants was potentially safe for consumption orally even in chronic administration. Enzyme based in-vitro antiobesity evaluation of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of K. africana, V. mespilifolia and their combination revealed that the ethanol extracts of both plants and their combination exhibited moderate inhibitory activities against α-amylase, α- glucosidase and pancreatic lipase. However, the standards used for the various inhibition assays exhibited much higher inhibitory actions when compared to any of the extracts. This suggests that the mechanism by which these two plants and their combination exert anti-obesity effects are probably not by inhibition of key enzymes of carbohydrate and fat metabolism.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Assessment of the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform's maize cropping programme in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Mqamelo, Luvolwethu
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Cropping systems Crops and climate Crop yields
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/9165 , vital:34288
- Description: The Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform maize cropping programme is one of the flagship projects that has been entrusted by the provincial government to tackle the social ills faced by the rural communities of the Eastern Cape Province. The programme is in line with a number of policies that strive to unlock the agricultural potential in inducing the much talked about radical economic transformation. This study was aimed at establishing if the outlay of the implementation processes and the outcomes of the maize cropping programme in Eastern Cape are sufficient to achieve the stated objectives. The study adopted a triangulation method to get comprehensive understanding of the programme and for accuracy and verification of the data collected. A pre-tested semistructured questionnaire was used to collect the demographics and socio-economic status of the respondents; technical skills and capabilities; implementation processes of the programme and the perceptions of the participants and key strategic role players in the maize cropping programme. A total of 120 respondents from DRDAR’s 2016/2017 financial year supported list and 9 key informants were sampled for the study. Furthermore, a gross margin analysis was used to establish the viability and the sustainability of the programme with and without DRDAR’s subsidies. For purposes of determining if there was any relation between the maize enterprise income and 13 independent variables, a multiple regression model was employed. The results of the study show that the programme is dominated by old and uneducated individuals with an average age of 60 years. The implementation processes are proving to be fairly progressed however, at a very limited scale. This includes provision of production inputs and mechanization services on time, formation of self-serving legal entities and unlocking the private sector investment. The gross margins generated from the programme have been observed to be non-viable and unsustainable. As a result, only 31% of the respondents were able to attain a gross margin equal or greater than the allocable costs of producing maize both under irrigation and dry land. The results of the regression model indicated that, only 5 of the 13 independent variables (household gender, marital status, years of participation, area planted and yield) were found to have a significant effect to the maize enterprise income. Overall, the DRDAR’s maize cropping programme has failed to meet its intended objectives. In addition, more than 70 percent of the programme participants produced for subsistence purposes and showed no desire to fully commercialise their operations.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Financial decision-making of fathers with social grants in Nkonkobe municipality, Eastern Cape province
- Authors: Ketani, Nolubabalo
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Decision making Dependency Public welfare
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Social Work
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/11773 , vital:39105
- Description: The aim of this study was to examine the role of fathers receiving social grants in family decision-making processes within households in Nkonkobe Municipality, Eastern Cape Province. The study also investigated how money from social grants is utilised by fathers, taking into consideration, the impact of such decisions on the well-being of family members. A methodological triangulation approach was adopted for data collection. One hundred and seventy questionnaires were administered to beneficiaries of social grants, selected using multi stage sampling. The data was then coded on Microsoft excel package and run using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for analysis. These yielded quantitative results which were then complemented by qualitative results obtained from 25 in-depth interviews conducted with caregivers residing with respondents. The major findings of the study revealed that most fathers earning social grants, made family decisions with their partners. Co-operative bargaining, resulting in the distribution of power in the decision-making process is relatively more prominent in most poor rural households. The effect of bargaining power emphasises the importance of gender empowerment in family decision-making processes. On the other hand, it is established that economic factors (such as income and employment status and age as a social factor) play a critical role in positioning other household members in decision-making within the family. As a result, children and unemployed household members have very limited decision power. The findings also revealed that social grants are the main source of income, if not, the only source of income in most households. Beneficiaries spend the money received on basic needs such as food, school fees, clothing and health, thus reducing hunger and suffering among beneficiaries. Therefore, social grants play a significant role in improving food security among poor households. Additionally, social grants are not only used for meeting individual needs of target groups of people in the household but for the entire needs of the household. The poverty gap been on the decline and such drop has been significant among poorest of the poor. Consequently, they impact positively beyond individual recipients and thus, strengthening intergenerational relations within poor families. Furthermore, it is established from the study that the role of male caregivers is an important one, and it is anticipated that many fathers will be involved in caregiving in the future. This is due to a variety of social demographic factors such as divorce, substance abuse, incarceration of parents, child abuse and neglect, health problems and death. Consequently, fathers receiving social grants, represent an important resource for poor households, especially for children. In a nutshell, with high incidences of poverty, coupled with HIV/AIDS epidemic, economic hardships, high rate of unemployment, absent parents and orphan crisis; the experiences and contributions of social grant earning fathers in caregiving, need to be acknowledged as they play a significant and benevolent role in well-being of family members, especially in the lives of children from vulnerable and poor homes. It is recommended that government should focus on promoting developmental policies that will contribute to poverty alleviation and reduce income inequalities in rural communities. Intervention plans should seek to develop exit programmes that capacitate households and communities to empower themselves. On the other hand, the development of support for male caregivers in private, public and community initiatives are commended to build capacity and empower fathers to cope with challenges associated with parenting.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Pharmacological evaluation of phragmanthera capitata (sprengel) balle, loranthaceae :a parasiticmistletoe growing on rubber trees
- Authors: Ohikhena, Franklin Uangbaoje
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Hevea Hevea -- Diseases and pests Rubber
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8899 , vital:33937
- Description: Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis Muell.) is the world’s major source of natural rubber and a major non-oil, agricultural export commodity in the producing countries in Africa. However, it is highly susceptible to specific mistletoes of the Loranthaceae family. Phragmanthera capitate (Sprengel) Balle is the major mistletoe parasitizing the rubber tree plantations in Africa and hence, alongside with other mistletoes, has attracted indiscriminate destruction from plantation owners. Indiscriminate destruction of plants could be as a result of ignorance of the importance or benefit(s) of the plants and this could lead to their extinction if not checked. Hence, there is the need for scientific documentation of plants and their uses because, from the pharmacological perception, the destruction of a plant could result in the permanent loss of a potential drug. Therefore, this study was aimed at documenting and evaluating the pharmacological potentials of P. capitata collected from rubber tree. Fresh leaves were gently rinsed with water and dried. Dried leaves were pulverised and kept at 4oC when not in use. Pulverised leaves were extracted with acetone, methanol, ethanol and water and concentrated to give the respective solvent crude extracts used in most of the assays. From the extraction, Methanol had the highest yield of 21.5percent, water had 10.8percent and acetone was 6.87percent while ethanol had the lowest yield of 4.3percent. Standard spectrophotometry assays on the extracts were used to quantify some major phytochemicals of pharmacological interest and also to determine the antioxidant potentials of the sample. The result revealed high amounts of phenols (175.53 ± 0.32 mg GAE/g to 218.62 ± 3.38 mg GAE/g), flavonoids (197.06 ± 3.80 mg QE/mg to 679.82 ± 6.26 mg QE/g) and proanthocyanidins (128.83 ± 1.69 mg CE/g to 645.68 ± 6.35 mg CE/g) with the acetone extract having the highest amount of the phytochemicals while the aqueous extract had the least. The results of the antioxidant assays revealed that the sample had high radical scavenging potentials with comparable inhibitory concentrations to standard antioxidant drugs. The proximate and mineral analysis on the pulverised sample showed that it is rich in carbohydrate with a composition of 57.73 ± 0.33 g/100 g. Protein, fat and fibre compositions were 12.50 ± 0.50 g/100 g, 3.34 ± 0.18 g/100 g and 11.66 ± 0.54 g/100g. The total energy composition was 310.97 ± 2.30 Kcal/100 g. The mineral composition revealed high potassium level of 1047.83 ± 34 mg/100g. Calcium (6.22.58 ± 0.01 mg/100g), magnesium (361.15 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) and phosphorous (115.40 ± 0.01 mg/100 g) were also present in appreciable amounts. The toxicity of the four extracts was assayed using brine shrimp. The LC50 in all the solvent extracts was greater than 1 mg/mL which according to Meyer’s index and other indexes signify “no toxicity” for crude plant extracts. Antimicrobial activity of the extracts was done using the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) assay against 10 bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus cereus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Vibrio cholera, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli) and 4 fungi (Trichophyton mucoides, Trichophyton tonsurans, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger) of human pathogenic strains. The MIC of the antibacterial assay ranged from 1.25 mg/mL to 5 mg/mL for the organic extracts while no activity was observed in the aqueous extract at the highest concentration tested. However, the aqueous extract had a great inhibitory activity on all four of the tested fungi with a MIC of ≤ 0.3125 mg/mL to 1.25 mg/mL while only two fungi (Trichophyton Tonsurans and Aspergillus niger) were susceptible to the organic extracts. The MIC of the TB causative pathogen, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (H37Rv) strain ranged from 25 μg/mL (acetone and aqueous extracts) to 50 μg/mL in the ethanol extract while it was > 50 μg/mL (highest concentration tested) in the methanol extract. This study revealed that the sample has the potential in phytotherapy against oxidative stresses (inflammations) caused by free radicals. It could also be a useful herb in combating diseases caused by pathogenic organisms. The high anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis activity observed in this study suggests it could be a plant with high promise in the fight against tuberculosis. The toxicity evaluation signifies it is safe for further plant-based pharmaceutical explorations. This study also validated some reported ethnopharmacological uses of this plant and call for its protection from indiscriminate destruction in rubber plantations and other crop gardens/plantations in the world.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Development communication for water conservation in rural and peri-urban communities : a study of three district municipalities in Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Onyenankeya, Kevin Uwaecheghi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Communication in rural development -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape Water conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8397 , vital:32562
- Description: South Africa continues to ramp up public campaigns to rein in escalating water demand amid dwindling and erratic supply. One of the objectives of the campaign is to reduce water demand in urban areas to 15 precent by 2030 through water conservation and water demand management strategies. While the water conservation drive continue to gain traction among commercial and urban water users, it does not appear to resonate with rural and peri-urban residents. Using the pragmatic convergent parallel mixed methods approach consisting of the quantitative and qualitative methods such as survey, focus groups, and indepth-interviews and observation, this study explored the water conservation attitudes, behaviour and intentions of rural and peri-urban respondents in four Eastern Cape communities in South Africa, and to determine if any factors influence their attitudes and behaviour. The study also attempted to determine whether a dialogic approach to communication about water conservation is likely to lead to positive change in attitude and behaviour. The questionnaires were distributed personally by researcher and trained assistants but respondents were left to complete the questionnaires at their convenience and in their own pace but within a negotiated period of five working days. The collected data were analysed using both parametric and non-parametric methods. The nonparametric methods used include thematic analysis. Transcripts of focus group and individual interviews were coded using Nvivo, while quantitative data was analysed in SPSS and presented in simple frequency and cross tabulation. Regression analysis was used to establish the influence of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control on water conservation intention. Results revealed respondents consider water conservation important and are favourably disposed to conserving water. Although peri-urban and rural residents considered water important and would want to make effort to conserve water in the future, not all considered water conservation an overarching social priority and, as a result, are generally passive or indifferent to water conservation. The indifference appears to be underpinned by residents’ beliefs about water. Further analysis showed that peri-urban residents have stronger positive attitude towards water conservation and greater intent and commitment towards water conservation than their rural counterpart. Attitude, subjective norm and behavioural control emerged as significant factors influencing water conservation intentions of respondents. The findings suggest that water curtailment behaviours were the prevalent water conservation activities rural and peri-urban residents engaged in, while water efficiency behaviours was very poor among the population. Factors such as cost, need, knowledge and locus of control had significant influence on residents’ water conservation behaviour and intentions, especially in purchasing or installing water efficient appliances. The study found no significant relationship between sociodemographic such as age, level of education and home tenure on resident’s water conservation behaviour or intentions. The findings indicate that many rural and peri-urban communities do not have adequate information on water conservation, what to do, how to do it and why it should be done and this affects their water conservation behaviour. It was also found that engaging residents through participatory dialogue is effective in raising awareness and stimulating interest in water saving activities. The study concludes that rural and peri-urban residents are yet to develop a social ethic of water conservation. The study highlights the need for concerted education and awareness campaign around water issues so as to build community knowledge and support for water conservation. But to encourage residents to make adjustment in deep-rooted “beliefs, habits, or practices” and change to a sustainable water use behaviour in the face of scarce water supplies and increasing demand, requires not just communication to inform and persuade, but also development communication to foster mutual understanding and collective action.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Development of a MPEG-7 based multimedia content description and retrieval tool for internet protocol television (IPTV)
- Authors: Ncube, Prince Daughing Ngqabutho
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: MPEG (Video coding standard) Digital television Multimedia communications
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4893 , vital:28738
- Description: Search and retrieval of multimedia content from open platforms such as the Internet and IPTV platforms has long been found to be hugely inefficient. It has been noted that a major cause of such inefficient results is the improper labeling or incomplete description of multimedia content by its creators. The lack of adequate description of video content by the proper annotation of video content with the relevant metadata leads to poor search and retrieval yields. The creation of such metadata itself is a major problem as there are various metadata description standards which users could employ. On the other hand there are tools such as FFprobe that can retrieve important features of video that can be used in searching and retrieval. The combination of such tools and metadata description standards could be the solution to the metadata problem. The Multimedia Content Description Interface (MPEG-7) is an example of a metadata description standard. It has been adopted by TISPAN for the description of IPTV multimedia content. The MPEG-7 standard is rather complex, seeing as it has over 1200 global Descriptors and Description Schemes which a user would have to know in order to implement such technology. This complexity is a nuisance when we consider the existence of multitudes of amateur video producers. These multimedia content creators have no idea how to use the MPEG-7 standard to annotate their creations with metadata. Consequently, overloading of the IPTV platform with content that has not been annotated in a standardized manner occurs, making search and retrieval of the multimedia content (videos, in this instance) inefficient. Therefore, it was imperative to try and determine whether the use of the MPEG-7 standard could be made much easier by creating a tool that is MPEG-7 enabled which will allow for the annotation of video content by any user without concerning themselves about how to use the MPEG-7 standard. In attempting to develop a tool for metadata generation, it was incumbent for us to understand the issues associated with metadata generation for users wishing to create IPTV services. An extensive literature review on IPTV standardization was carried out to determine the issues associated with metadata generation for IPTV and their proposed solutions. An experimental research approach was taken in an attempt to figure out if our proposed solution to the lack of technical expertise by users about the MPEG-7 standard could be the final solution to the metadata generation problem. We developed a Multimedia Content Description and Management System (MCDMS) prototype which enabled us to describe video content by annotating it with 16 different metadata elements and storing the descriptions in XML MPEG-7 format. Incremental development and re-use oriented development were used during the development phase of this research. The MCDMS underwent functional testing; smoke testing of the individual system components and Big Bang integration testing for the combined components. Our results indicate that the more metadata is appended to a video as description the better it is to search for and retrieve. The MCDMS hides the complexity of MPEG-7 metadata creation from the users. With the effortless creation of MPEG-7 based metadata, it becomes easier to annotate videos. Consequently, search and retrieval of video content becomes more efficient. It is important to note that the description of multimedia content remains a complex feat. Even with the metadata elements laid out for users, there still exist other issues that affect metadata creation such as polysemy and the semantic gap. However, the provision of a tool that does the MPEG-7 standardizing behind the scenes for users when they upload a video makes the description of multimedia content in a standardized manner a much easier feat to achieve.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Exploring performance management systems in the Eastern Cape Department of Education
- Authors: Faye, Busisiwe
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Performance standards Performance -- Management Performance -- Measurement
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MPA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/8792 , vital:33584
- Description: The declining matric pass rates in the Eastern Cape Department of Education emanate from the ineffective implementation of performance management systems. Using an extensive documentary review analysis, the study explores various challenges which affected the Department in implanting performance management systems to enhance leaners’ performance and improve the work of public officials. The study recognizes that the manipulation of recruitment systems, ineffective leadership and administration discourage the effective implementation of performance management systems. In this case, public officials delayed to sign performance agreements which resulted in low staff morale. The Supervisor in the ECDoE could not provide feedback in time to officials which resulted in low morale. The study revealed the lack of monitoring and evaluation of performance management systems is due to lack of skills in the department. All these challenges affected the department negatively in terms of improving performance management for the benefit of learners’ education in the province. The study concludes that the implementation of skills development programmes in the Department can spearhead effective service delivery. The government of South Africa needs to channel adequate funding towards skills development, which is imperative in the running of an efficient public service.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Template-assisted sol-gel synthesis of carbon doped titanium dioxide nanotubes and their characterization
- Authors: Takata, Nwabisa
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Nanotechnology Titanium dioxide Nanostructures
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/13194 , vital:39473
- Description: This study reveals the effects of doping on the morphological, structural and optical properties of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanotubes (TNTs), synthesized by sol-gel template-assisted sol-gel technique. The nanotubes (TNTs) were prepared in anodic alumina membranes (AAM) with a pore diameter range of 110-210 nm by using titanium tetra butoxide as a sol-gel precursor and oxalic acid dihydrate as a dopant source. The synthesized nanotubes were evaluated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), confocal Raman spectroscopy (CRS) and photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL). SEM analysis has revealed the presence of closely-packed TNTs, with a modal external tube diameters of 150, 170, 210,190 and 210 nm for the un-doped TNTs, 9 mM carbon doped-TNTs (C-TNTs), 27 mM C-TNTs, 45 mM C-TNTs and 75 mM C-TNTs respectively. The diameters are consistent with the AAM diameter range. EDX spectra revealed the presence of Ti peaks at 0.45 and 4.9 keV corresponding to Kα1 and Kβ1 emission lines respectively. Oxygen exhibits a signal at 0.5 keV corresponding to Kα1 emission line. The occurrence of these peaks in the EDX spectra endorses the existence of Ti and O atoms in the prepared titanium dioxide nanotubes. FTIR spectroscopy has revealed the presence of vibration modes at 580-660 cm-1 indicating the presence of Ti-O bonds and additional vibration modes at 2324 cm-1 resulting from C-O stretching in the C-TNTs. The XRD analysis has revealed the presence of a mixed anatase-brookite phase with diffraction peaks at 2θ angles of 25.49⁰, 38.11⁰, 40.60º, 48.14⁰, 54.58⁰, 63.00⁰, 70.11⁰ and 75.66⁰. Additionally, XRD analysis has revealed elongation of lattice parameter “c” from 9.143 to 9.830 Å with carbon concentration increase. Lattice expansion indicates the possibility of carbon substituting oxygen sites. Raman large area scan has revealed the presence of rutile, brookite and anatase for the undoped samples. On doping the rutile phase of TiO2 has shown to be suppressed by the presence of carbon atoms such that the doped samples consist of brookite and anatase phases only. The Eg1 mode of anatase of the undoped TNTs at 153. 78 cm-1 was red shifted by Δ9.78 cm-1 relative to the bulk anatase TiO2. This was attributed to decrease in particle size, presence of brookite and phonon confinement. Upon doping, the 9 mM C-TNTs, 27 mM TNTs and 75 mM TNTs have shown a red shift of Δ0. 09 cm-1, Δ1. 39 cm-1 and 1.81 cm-1 respectively, suggesting the incorporation of carbon in the TiO2 matrix. CRS depth profiling in the XZ direction has also validated the presence of a mixed anatase-brookite phase at Raman active modes 153.19 cm-1, 208.87 cm-1, 404.55 cm-1, 523.26 cm-1 and 648.55 cm-1. Photoluminescence spectra of carbon doped TiO2 showed two emission peaks at 398 nm attributed to annihilation of excitons while the broad peak at 400-460 nm was attributed to the presence of oxygen vacancies. The peak intensity of the 45 mM C-TNTs has shown a lower PL intensity suggesting that efficiency of charge separation was higher and recombination rate was lower than other carbon containing samples.
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- Date Issued: 2017
The perceived meaning and benefits of people analytics in selected organisations in South Africa
- Authors: Marazanye, Joram
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Personnel management Business -- Data processing Employees -- Recruiting
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCom
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/4480 , vital:28341
- Description: Regardless of the widespread application of analytics to a variety of business measurements, it is noteworthy that the use of people analytics is still no place close where it could be. The main aim of this study is to examine the perceived meaning and benefits of people analytics in selected South African organisations. People analytics is a burning-fresh topic in HR field aiming at using data to make organisational decisions and little has been done in this area especially in the South African context. The study employed qualitative-exploratory design which comprised of 10 senior HR officers from selected organisations in South Africa. From the findings, it shows that the employment of people analytics in South African context is in its early stage and its conception and repercussions are little understood. In addition, there is an accord on its usefulness, however the workforce analytic skills have found to be the major difficulty to foster its successful implementation and adoption by organisations. Because of its qualitative nature, this study had a limitation that it lack representativeness hence the findings cannot be generalised. Research opportunities for future can be quantitative and longitudinal research to objectively ascertain the extent future employability of people analytics.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Factors influencing adherence to folic acid and ferrous sulphate nutritional supplement intake among pregnant teenagers in Buffalo City Municipality, Eastern Cape
- Authors: Kalipa, Zamazizi
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Pregnancy -- Nutritional aspects Pregnant women -- Attitudes Folic acid -- Pregnant women
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , Nursing
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/10017 , vital:35286
- Description: Aim: The purpose of this study was to determine the factors influencing folic acid/ferrous sulphate nutritional supplement intake among pregnant teenagers in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), Eastern Cape in South Africa.Methodology: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study involving 300 purposively selected pregnant teenagers aged between 13 to 19 years, who were attending antennal clinic in BCMM. A self-designed questionnaire was used for data collection. Results: The majority (97.0 percent) of the respondents obtained their supplements from the clinic; took other medications (87.2 percent); the respondents regularly used nutritional supplements (71.7 percent); agreed that folic acid and ferrous sulphate were important for pregnancy outcomes (96 percent); should be taken before pregnancy and after birth (68.2 percent); and nurses had explained the possible pregnancy complications (71.7 percent). About 84.1 percent agreed that the medication containers were clearly labelled; and nurses had explained the side effects of folic acid/ ferrous folate (60.7 percent), and the likely action in case side effects occurred (56 percent). The majority of the participants also agreed that folic acid and ferrous sulphate are good for the unborn baby (88 percent); and are harmless to the unborn baby (75.3 percent). The majority (49.2 percent) of the participants did not consume dark leafy vegetables, cabbage (35.0 percent), liver (47.1 percent), beef/lamb (42.0 percent), fish (43.3 percent) and beans/legumes (36.4 percent). Participants indicated that folic acid and ferrous sulphate made them feel nauseous, inclined to vomit and also caused stomach pain.Conclusion: The majority of pregnant teenagers received their nutritional supplements from the health facilities over the counter. The study indicated that nausea, vomiting, forgetting to take the supplements due to busy schedules, non-availability of folic acid and ferrous sulphate in health facilities were the major reasons influencing the intake of folic acid and ferrous sulphate by pregnant teenagers. Also, there is low consumption of iron and folate rich foods by pregnant teenagers in this setting. Health practitioners including doctors, nurses and community health care workers needed to improve health education by including information on nutritional supplements and the importance an use of folic acid and ferrous sulphate during pregnancy.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Investigating adaptation strategies to climate change by smallholder farmers : evidence from, Lesotho
- Authors: Morahanye, Mokhantso Lilian
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Climatic changes -- South Africa Farms, Small -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/5807 , vital:29397
- Description: In Lesotho, agriculture is the dominant activity and involves crop and livestock production, range management and forestry activities. The current climatic variability in the country has caused decline in food production as result of increased dry spells, frequency of droughts and erratic rainfall. These climatic events are expected to have a significant impact on the livelihoods of the smallholder farmers. In combatting the harmful effects of climate change, smallholder farmers in Lesotho have employed various adaptation strategies based on their local knowledge and limited means. While these strategies may not be optimal they obviously constitute the basis for potentially effective improved technologies which can be developed and communicated through an efficient extension system, hence the need to precisely identify them and understand the factors that affect their choice. The main objective of this study was therefore, to identify the adaptation strategies and investigate the factors influencing smallholder farmers’ choice of those adaptation strategies. The study made use of multi-stage stratified sampling technique to select 160 respondents across four agro-ecological zones (lowlands, highlands, foothills and Senqu River Valley) in Leribe and Mohales’Hoek districts of Lesotho. Primary data for the study were collected using semi - structured questionnaire assisted with interview schedules administered on the respondents. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics and the multinomial logistics regression model. The results show that there are more males than females, majority of the respondents’ attained primary education, and older people dominate the smallholder farming system. The adaptation strategies used in MNL model were soil and water management, crop management and livestock management. The results further revealed that soil and water management strategies were the most adopted climate change strategies amongst smallholder farmers. It is understood that marital status, age and gender, income, land tenure, crop grown, extension services, and agro-ecological zones are the determinant factors influencing the choice of the adaptation strategies. This study concludes by recommending that smallholder farmers should be sensitised about climate change and both government and non-government organisations working on climate change related issues should direct their attention to rural communities to ensure effective response to climate change.
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- Date Issued: 2017